Spiral
by BunniesOfDoom
Summary: Yuri's first blood drive doesn't go as expected.


Originally written for a friend's prompt on tumblr a while back and now finally uploaded here. I have never participated in a blood drive before so I cannot attest to the accuracy of any of this. Set somewhere after the end of the Grand Prix finals, while all the skaters are still in town. Content warning for needles and blood. Enjoy!

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"A blood drive?" Yuri asks suspiciously, folding his arms across his chest. He's never given blood before, but it doesn't really sound like fun. Plus, Yuri hates needles.

"Yes, that's right!" the woman exclaims, her enthusiasm clearly not dampened by Yuri's reluctance. "It's a chance for our wonderful athletes to give back to a good cause!"

Not to mention the publicity; the room is crawling with reporters and journalists. Yakov gives Yuri a stern look, and Yuri knows that he has no choice but to do it. He'd ruin his image if he backed out of this.

Well, Yuri just won the Grand Prix Finals in his senior debut, so giving blood should be a piece of cake. He takes a deep breath, steeling himself. "Let's get this over with."

The organizer of the blood drive let's out a squeal of excitement and gestures for Yuri to follow her. Yuri idly wonders if it's possible for her to be anything but cheerful. It's like talking to Victor.

They quickly get him set up, and Yuri tries to stay calm when he hears them talking about getting started. His heart starts racing when he sees the needle, but he reminds himself that it's way smaller than the ones they use to give shots.

They insert the needle and start drawing blood. The insertion hurts way less than a shot, but his arm starts to ache with the needle still in it. Yakov scolds him when he complains, motioning to the reporters swarming around the room, and tells him to stop looking at it. Apparently if Yuri can take his mind off of it, it'll hurt less. So Yuri swallows hard and plays games on his phone, resolutely refusing to look at his arm.

The pain lessens, but his arm still hurts a bit. Still, it's way better than before. Finally, after draining what seems like half of the blood from his body, the vampires are satisfied. They remove the needle and start cleaning him up. Yuri feels strangely woozy, but doesn't comment, just glad that it's over.

"Thank you for donating!" says a nurse, offering him an apple and a cookie. Yuri waves her off, too dizzy to want food right now. His stomach feels uneasy and he feels lightheaded. All he wants to do is go back to the hotel.

His head whips around at the sound of someone calling his name. It's a bad move, only serving to increase the dizziness and nausea. "Hey, Yuri," Otabek says again, suddenly at Yuri's side.

Despite how awful he feels, Yuri smiles, glad to see his friend. "Otabek," he replies in greeting. "I was just about to leave."

"Are you okay?" Otabek asks, brow furrowed in concern. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Yuri waves him off. If he ignores how awful he feels, it'll go away, right? "Let's get out of here."

Unfortunately, Yuri barely makes it five steps before the dizziness intensifies unbearably, making his knees buckle. "Otabek?" he says uncertainly. "I don't feel so good."

Otabek whirls around just in time to see his friend collapse to the ground. "Yuri!" he shouts, dropping to his friend's side in an instant. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Yakov herding the journalists away from his fallen student. "Yuri!" he says again, shaking his friend gently.

Fortunately, Yuri isn't out for long; he stirs when Otabek shakes him again, green eyes opening blearily. "What happened?" he mumbles. His mouth is dry and his head is pounding.

One of the staff brings over a glass of water, offering it to Yuri, who takes it obediently. "You passed out," Otabek explains as Yuri sips at the water.

"What?" Yuri exclaims. "No way!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Otabek reassures him. "It was your first time giving blood, right? And I'm guessing you didn't eat anything afterwards." Yuri nods sheepishly. "They offer you food for a reason, you know," Otabek scolds gently.

Yuri has gone bright red, hiding his face behind his bangs. Otabek tries to cheer him up. "Drink your water, and eat something, and let's get out of here. Sound good?"

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Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!


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